ACTOR Jim Carrey said he had been “hit with a lightning bolt” by the suicide of his girlfriend.
Carrey, 53, said after the tragedy in Los Angeles: “I’m shocked and deeply saddened by her passing.”
Cathriona, from Cappawhite in Co Tipperary, Ireland, had reportedly left a suicide note addressed to Carrey and referring to their break-up.
A coroner last night confirmed pills were found beside the 30-year-old at her Los Angeles home. She is thought to have taken an overdose.
Carrey, who split with her last Thursday, said yesterday: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of my sweet Cathriona. She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving and being loved was all that sparkled.
“My heart goes out to her family and friends and to everyone who loved and cared about her. We have all been hit with a lightning bolt.”
Cathriona met the Liar Liar star in 2012 and the pair dated for a few months before rekindling their romance earlier this year.
Two friends are believed to have found her body after they arrived to check on her at her home in the Sherman Oaks area of LA.
Cathriona had earlier worried pals with a series of social media posts in recent days.
On Thursday, she wrote online: “Signing off Twitter, I hope I have been a light to my nearest and dearest.” The tweet ended with peace and love emojis.
The previous day she had quoted the Irish poet W B Yeats on her Instagram account.
She wrote: “Faeries, come take me out of this dull world, For I would ride with you upon the wind, Run on the top of the dishevelled tide, And dance upon the mountains like a flame.”
Signing off Twitter, I hope I have been a light to my nearest and dearest. ¿¿¿¿¿¿ to yo all
— Cathriona white (@littleirishcat) September 24, 2015
A heartbroken friend of Cathriona’s, Daphne del Rosario, said from her US home last night: “It’s a bad dream, a bad dream.”
Frank Nakama, the gardener at the property where Cathriona died, said she had seemed paranoid and depressed in recent days.
He told The Sun: “The last time I saw her was on Friday. I wanted to use the ladder so she opened the garage for me, but then closed the door very quickly, almost before I had left the garage.
“She wasn’t smiling. She seemed paranoid — she’d also installed security cameras all over the property in the last couple of months.”
Another neighbour said: “There were fire trucks and police cars up here between 9pm and 11.30pm.
“She was very private and had only lived in the house a few months. I’d heard Carrey was her boyfriend, but never saw him here.”
Cathriona’s death comes almost exactly three years after her dad lost his fight with cancer.
Pat White was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1991 and suffered with it for 21 years until it claimed his life on September 26, 2012.
The pair were extremely close and, after her parents split when she was younger, Cathriona chose to stay in Tipperary with her dad and two siblings, Lisa and James.
Her mother Brigid moved to the UK and remarried.
Cathriona met Carrey in the US soon after Pat’s death and he offered her a shoulder to cry on.
The pair’s relationship was confirmed after they were snapped together on Malibu beach in 2012.
Pals said their romance quickly got serious with both “completely smitten” — but they broke up in early 2013. Carrey, who has a history of depression, admitted last November he has difficulty committing to relationships.
He said: “We had a lovely time together but are no longer together.
“Cathriona is a lovely young woman. I’ve always been attracted to talent, so if someone is beautiful and talented, it’s hard to resist.
“But as far as dating and stuff goes, I don’t know. I’m in love with everybody, all shapes and sizes. I don’t know what to do.”
Yet Cathriona and Carrey rekindled their romance around five months ago and were snapped holding hands in New York in May.
On September 1, the star posted a snap on social media that his then-lover took of him by a lake.
Yesterday shattered relatives gathered with friends at Lisa’s home outside Cappawhite.
A family friend said “Everyone is devastated. Lisa can’t believe it’s happened. She was only over in America visiting a month ago.
“Cathriona met Jim with Lisa and they appeared very happy. No one can understand how she could have taken her life so suddenly.”
Another local said: “Cathriona continued to come back here to visit. She never lost sight of where she came from or who she was.
“Everyone was very surprised when she started going with Jim Carrey, but she did not speak about the relationship. She was very young and was really in love with him. It is just so sad.”
Locals believe Cathriona’s body will be brought home to Ireland and buried with her dad.
LA Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter yesterday said her death was reported as a possible suicide.
He said: “There evidently was a note found. There were pills located near her. The final cause of death won’t be released until we get full toxicology and tests back.”
Comic with a tangled love life
By CHLOE MAYER
JIM Carrey has had a tangled love life since finding fame and has suffered a string of bitter splits.
He broke into the movie business in the mid-80s and wed Comedy Store waitress Melissa Womer in 1987.
The couple were together for eight years and had a daughter Jane, who is a year older than Cathriona.
A year after their break-up Carrey married Dumb and Dumber co-star Lauren Holly, but that lasted less than 12 months.
He went on to enjoy romances with Mad Men star January Jones, 37, The X-Files actress Laurie Holden, 45, and his Me Myself and Irene co-star Renee Zellweger, 46.
In 2005 he began dating former Playmate Jenny McCarthy, 42, and became a father-figure to her autistic son Evan before the couple split five years later.
She publicly blasted him in 2012, accusing him of ignoring Evan after they broke up, upsetting the lad so badly he needed therapy.
But Carrey hit back, saying: “It’s unfortunate Evan’s privacy is not being considered. I love Evan very much and will miss him always.”